Opening Day at the Pit

It’s on; the season has officially opened. And no, I’m not talking baseball here, not even RedSox Yankees, which resumes tonight in the Bronx. I’m talking about the official start of the barbeque season, and the inauguration of our new firepit. Last weekend we had some nice weather, and even though I was busy getting ready for the trial of a commercial case, we took time on Saturday to grill shrimp and steaks, and to light a fir in the new stone pit. After dinner, after a nice bottle of Malbec, after the stars had come out, we all sat around the firepit, some of us enjoying dessert, and others a glass of whisky. A nice peated malt around a smoky fire—what better way to end a spring day?

Now speaking of baseball, I was glad to see the starters return to form in the two days at Camden yards. We had taken an entire turn through the starting rotation without a good start from anyone. Fortunately, we were able to win a few games from the Yankees last weekend, because right now their staff is in much worse shape. They even had Pettite come in for an inning of relief work. Our bad pitching tempered the enjoyment of an early season sweep, bringing back memories of last summer’s collapse, when none of the starters could be relied upon to stop a losing streak, and when the bullpen was largely ineffective. And, I don’t want to lose sight of the fact that it’s only April. How many years have the Sox looked dominant early in the season, yet found themselves struggling after the all-star break?

Still, the starters look strong so far. Schill has aged, but seems to have added to his repertoire, and if he can return to 2004 form, that will really anchor the staff. Beckett looks to be pitching more, and throwing less, which would be a big improvement. Relying mainly on his fastball last year, he gave up gobs of home runs, and his ERA soared. Then of course, there is Dice-K. He’s demonstrated potential greatness, but as yet, he’s not dominating. But more important is the resurgence in the bullpen. This year’s addition of Okajima seems every bit as valuable as the signing of Dice-K, especially with Papelbon around to close out games. Pap had another no hit inning last night, leaving his ERA right at the zero mark for the season so far. And even Brendon Donnelly, who seemed to get knocked around in spring training, has been pretty reliable. Timlin is still inconsistent, but if we don’t need him every other game, as we have for the last couple years, he can perhaps get healthy and strong once more. And everyone has their fingers crossed for Jon Lester.

That’s the line-up for the next few months. Some baseball, some grilling, some sitting around the pit, some malt whisky. All in no particular order.

Hubris

It’s called hubris. Last night, Danny was sending text messages, gloating about A-Rod’s two homers. A little too soon, I think. A great thing about baseball, to paraphrase one of its most famous philosophers, is that it’s not over until it’s over. And in the bottom of the eighth, down 6-2, the Sox scored five runs, and won the first game of eighteen, despite a poor performance from Schilling, and without having to use Papelbon in the ninth. What about Okajima out of the bullpen? Two guys in the pen who can shut down the opposition in the ninth? Are you kidding me? Anyway, it was a reminder not to tempt the baseball gods. It’s only April, and it ain’t over till it’s over.

Big Weekend

Papelbon is no longer perfect. This week he gave up one hit and a couple walks. Even put a couple guys on base at the same time in one of the Blue Jays games. Still, for the year he has eleven Ks and only two walks, and of course, no runs. Four saves in five appearances, and the fifth outing was the most impressive, striking out Vlad with two guys on base, and the game still close. Big weekend coming up. The Yankees at Fenway for the first time since last summer, when they finished off our disappointing 2006 season. John will be at the Park tonight watching Schill open the series. Schill, Beckett and Dice-K. Go Pap; Go Sox.

Another big development this weekend is the opening of the barbeque season. It’s been winter up here since who can remember when. Mountains of snow were piled up in the yard until March, and then, just when we thought spring was coming, the temps plunged, the snow returned, and the weather pretty much sucked until about 36 hours ago. Suddenly the sun is out; it’s warm; and best of all, we have the new grill for the fire-pit. Big day tomorrow – some strip steaks, some malts, maybe even a cigar. Let’s hope we get to smoke it, just like Red did, to celebrate some wins.

Potrero

John has been touting a rye whisky by the name of Old Potrero, so last night at Max I had a glass. Very nice, a bit of a burn going down, but smooth and flavorful nonetheless. John tells of a bar in Boston with a great collection of whiskies where the bartender turned up his nose at Potrero. That could be because the bartender was an old guy, but Potrero’s really not an old whisky, despite the name. Rather, it’s a fairly new product from the Anchor distillery in California, so for the time being it might better be called New Potrero, or maybe just Potrero. In any event, although I’m not a huge fan of rye whisky, one thing I liked was the consistency of the taste. Some whiskies taste fine on the palate, but then the taste changes, often not for the better, once you swallow. Potrero had a long consistent aftertaste. So for those of you who enjoy ryes, or Canadian whisky, I recommend giving this spirit a try.

Meanwhile, two games in a row, we have no run support for Dice-K. Last outing Sox get shut out; tonight, despite seven hits, all we can muster is a single run off Willy Mo’s solo home run. Still, the good news is that in ten of twelve games so far this year our pitchers have allowed three or fewer runs. In fact, in eight games, it’s only two or fewer. However, a year ago, we started the season with great pitching, only to see the arms wilt in the heat of summer. Beckett had a great April, but late in the season had surrendered more home runs than any other AL pitcher. So a great April doesn’t necessarily mean that the arms will stay strong all year. Still, it’s an encouraging sign. Now the bats have to start giving Dice-K some help.

The Optimism of Springtime

Here’s another thing Thorstein Veblen could not understand, let alone appreciate -- the sense of renewal and optimism that comes every spring. It’s not just that the earth comes back to life, or that the days become longer and warmer. It’s the start of baseball season, with another year’s hopes and dreams riding on the fortunes of the RedSox. And since 2004, those dreams seem more real, more believable, more possible than they ever did during that long lifetime of disappointment leading up to that fall.

Here’s a few things making all of us optimistic this springtime, even with snow still falling: Jonathan Papelbon. So far he’s made three appearances, two for saves, and last night to put out a fire in the eighth. (Sox didn’t need him for the ninth after scoring six more runs.) In those three appearances he hasn’t allowed a single hit. Six Ks and no walks. Last night he struck out Vlad on four pitches – all strikes.

And then for good measure, Mike Timlin came in for the ninth and tossed a perfect inning. He battled Shea Hillenbrand (Sox alum), who always plays us tough, and finally got him to strike out. The last two guys went down on weak fly balls. That may not seem like a big deal, but a healthy and effective Timlin would do so much for this bullpen. His first appearance had been a bit rusty, leaving everyone uncertain if he had healed up properly. But last night was a nice sign.

How about Tim Wakefield, with another strong start – this time going seven innings, giving up only one run on two hits? Wake always brings an element of uncertainty to the rotation. When the knuckler is jumping around, so long as Mirabelli can catch it, he’s very effective. But when it doesn’t dance, he gets hit hard. However, since no one expects Wake to be a stopper, every time he tosses a game like last night, it’s a big bonus for the rotation. Right now we look four deep, with Jon Lester on the mend. That’s an entirely different order of magnitude on the optimism scale, just hoping Lester is healthy. But if he is healthy, and if he can toss like he did early last year, before he got sick…. Would that be a rotation or what?

As for the batters, Papi is coming alive, winning one game outright already, and contributing big last night, with a couple timely doubles. Manny’s bat will heat up at some point, and he’ll get his 100 plus RBIs. But the real optimism comes from watching JD Drew, who’s the most consistent hitter in the lineup right now, or Julio Lugo, who got on base three times last night. That’s really big, because Papi and Manny are that much more devastating when guys get on base in front of them.

So yes, it’s only the first couple weeks of the season. And yes, it’s a long season. Guys get hurt; arms get tired, and even though we’re all enthusiastic here, the team is only a game above 500 at this point. But that’s not the point. The point is that anything is possible right now. That’s what makes spring so great.

Thorstein Veblen: Hater in the House

A guest post by Junior

"Drunkenness and the other pathological consequences of the free use of stimulants therefore tend in their turn to become honorific, as being a mark, at the second remove, of the superior status of those who are able to afford the indulgence."

Thorstein Veblen, "Theory of the Leisure Class"

Although I'm proud to participate in a certain type of hating, I'm not going to stand idle while Thorstein Veblen trash talks two of our great passions: whiskey and baseball. Veblen's theory is that all consumption is a public display of our social position. He would argue that this blog is an effort to impress upon the reader, through our references to expensive whiskeys and leisure time spent at Fenway, that we are members of the powerful ruling class.

I would argue the opposite. In my opinion, the value of these two past times is that they allow us to forget about our own selfish concerns and join us with others in a community. When it comes to sport or whiskey, we allow ourselves to get swept away. Certain people I meet can't understand why I would scream at Rudy Seanez through the TV screen when he hangs a curve ball over the fat part of the plate, or why a win or a loss can change my whole outlook on the day. I'm glad it can, and I enjoy giving a damn about something I have no control over.

In addition, both whiskey and sport give us something we can talk passionately about with a complete stranger. Instead of establishing caste, these tastes actually cut across social and economic barriers. A knowledge of the Sox and single malts goes a long way in this town, and can put you in the good graces of some intimidating company, from the professor to the foreman.



And now on to more important subject matter: rye. I've become a huge fan of this variety of whiskey in the last six months or so. Pops is right, we've discovered the majority of the great single malts. Sure a number of unusual bottlings exist, but part of what I loved about malts was finding them for the first time. Rye whiskey is just beginning to pop up in Boston. Bars rarely carry more than a couple of bottles, if any, and the selections rarely overlap. American ryes are often dark and peppery, similar to a Canadian whiskey, but with more distinctions between distilleries and bottlings. They have a spicy flavor and drink like bourbon, but without the caramel sweetness. To be considered a rye, the whiskey mash needs to be 51 percent rye, but there are a couple of 100 percent ryes out there: Old Potrero and Rittenhouse. These are fabulous. Much softer, with a real taste of the grain. Typically I find these priced similarly to bourbon, which is also an advantage, because you can try the best without breaking the bank.

Yesterday I enjoyed a Guinness at the ball park, while watching Josh Beckett mow down the Mariners. Now that's conspicuous consumption we can all agree on.

Papelbon Saves

This is what we call a save: last night, Jonathan Papelbon took the mound in the eighth inning against the Rangers. Score was 3-2 Sox. One out; runners on first and third; one run in already that inning. Michael Young batting. The same Michael Young was the MVP of last summer’s all star game. Strike out; two outs. Next up, Mark Teixeira; first pitch pop up. Papelbon out of the inning and no more damage.

The ninth wasn’t even close. After Sammy Sosa popped out, Papelbon made quick work of the final two Rangers, as one went down swinging and one looking. So the final line was five batters, three Ks and two pop-ups. A total of fifteen pitches. Twelve for strikes. No runs, no hits, barely any contact to speak of.

So here’s the plan, Schilling Beckett and Dice-K (maybe Lester; who knows?) keep us close enough to get through the middle relievers, the set up guys, who aren’t quite set up yet, but who might improve once Timlin gets healthy. All we need is an inning or two, until Papelbon comes in to shut the door. And once Papi and Manny begin to hit…..

It would be nice not to need Papelbon; but it’s also nice to know he waiting in the pen.

Dice-K

So now everyone knows what the K in Dice-K stands for. Earlier today, for his first outing of the season: ten Ks, and a single walk. I like that ratio. Particularly because Dice-K had struggled a bit with control in his last two spring-training outings. He wasn’t allowing many hits, but he gave a few too many free passes. Not so today. Beyond the Ks, the box looked real nice overall :one earned run over seven innings. This on the heels of a nice start by Josh Beckett yesterday. Two young arms, two consecutive games where the Sox allow only a single run. How often did the Sox hold their opposition to a single run last year? In the AL East especially, it’s going to be pitching that makes the difference, because there are plenty of big bats in all of the lineups.

Still, I remember that Beckett and Schill started great last year, allowing Papelbon to save a bunch of low scoring games in the springtime of the season, before everyone wilted in the heat of summer. In July and August, we had a stretch of almost twenty consecutive games where the pitchers surrendered five or more runs. We won a bunch of those by outslugging the opposition, but eventually we began losing more than we won, and the season came to an early and disappointing end. The lesson being that two good starts don’t get us into the post-season; there are another 159 games to be played.

For now, however, how hot is that ticket to next week’s Mariners’series, when Dice-K will begin his Fenway career by pitching to Ichiro? And how many TVs in Japan will be tuned in live, regardless of the hour? I think I need to buy another bottle of Suntori.